Boeing Announces Ransomware Attack

On Wednesday, a Boeing spokesperson announced that some of the company’s key-systems might have fallen prey to the infamous WannaCry virus. Although the entire company has been on edge since the virus was detected, company-appointed security specialists declared that the virus had not affected airline software of production-related systems.

Same Ransomware Attack Affected Atlanta Computers, Authorities Reveal

This week, Mike VanderWel, Boeing’s head of engineering, announced via an internal memo that the ransomware virus dubbed WannaCry has been detected on several Boeing systems. The Boeing spokesperson added that ever since the computer virus was discovered the whole company, from VPs to security specialists have been on edge.

In the internal memo, VanderWel commentated of the virus’s transmission rate calling it metastasizing. As security specialists pointed out, malware such as WannaCry don’t necessarily wipe out sensible information or destroy storing environments.

Instead, WannaCry removes all encryption keys and replaces it with others. The purpose of this computer virus is to force the victim’s hand into paying an undisclosed sum of money, often Bitcoins, in exchange for the new encryption key. In theory, if the victim complies with the extortionist’s demands, he or she will promptly receive the necessary credentials.

Unfortunately, as some security specialists argue, in most cases, even with the new decryption keys, retrieving sensible information proves to be problematic.

Several days after Boeing made the announcement, another company spokesperson declared that the initial statement was rather dire compared to reality, claiming that the virus only infected a handful of devices.

Still, Boeing is one of the few entities that have been affected by ransomware, a malware bred in NSA’s labs and unleashed on the Internet in 2016. White House officials believe that North Korean operatives might be behind the recent ransomware attack that took the city of Atlanta by surprise.